Brenda Lee on Kanye sample: ‘It’s nice to be recognized’

Believe it or not, someone other than Kanye West gets the last word on the outspoken rapper's new album, "Yeezus" - and it's Nashville's own "Little Miss Dynamite," Brenda Lee.

A bit of spoken word from the beginning of Lee's 1959 hit "Sweet Nothin's" - in which the singer says "Uh-uh, honey" and "all right" - is sampled and used throughout "Bound 2," the final song on West's new album.

Speaking to the Tennessean on Monday, Lee said she hadn't heard West's song, but had received several calls in the last week since the album's June 18 release.

"My goodness," she said, after learning how prominently her voice was featured. "It’s nice to be recognized."

Lee's unlikely appearance on "Yeezus" came as "a bit of a surprise" to the Country Music (and Rock and Roll) Hall of Famer. She says she wasn't contacted by West's camp, as label MCA Nashville has the rights to approve the recording's use. But she deems it a good surprise, especially as West's fans are now turning to clips of "Sweet Nothin's" on YouTube.

Kanye West (AP Photo/Evan Agostini)

"It's always nice to know that somebody has remembered you and knows your work," she says.

One year after "Sweet Nothin's," Lee topped the pop chart with one of her signature hits, "I'm Sorry." This week, she'll likely top the charts again, as "Yeezus" is projected to debut at No. 1 when sales figures are released on Wednesday - a notion that strikes Lee as "pretty surreal."

"That says a lot about the songwriters here in Nashville," she says. "They write wonderful songs that withstand the test of time. That song is over 50 years old. You never know, you know?"